1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to boarding ladders for boats. More particularly, it concerns such ladders designed primarily to be permanently mounted on pleasure boats, e.g., sailboats, sportfishing boats, etc., to swing from a raised, storage position clear of the water to a lowered, use position in which at least one step thereof is immersed in the water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Boarding ladders for pleasure boats, as opposed to those intended for use on freighters and other large vessels, can be divided into two broad classes, namely, those that are carried on mounts permanently attached to the boat and those that mount temporarily on the boat only during use. This invention relates to the permanently attached type.
Some ladders of the permanent type are attached to platforms that extend from the boat, generally aft of the stern, e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,485 and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 901,268, filed Aug. 29, 1986. Others of the permanent type are designed to be attached directly to the topsides per se of the boat, e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,720 and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 917,801, filed Oct. 10, 1986. This invention relates to boat ladders of the latter type.
A favorite location for mounting a boarding ladder of the permanently attached type to a boat is at the stern. This avoids possible contact of the ladder with pilings, etc. in entering or leaving a berth. Also, this presents best access to the ladder in rear cockpit boats, such as sailboats and sportfishers. However, since many of the transoms of boats, particularly sailboats, extend, not normal to the waterline of the boat, but at an acute angle thereto, many of the boarding ladders of the permanent type available heretofore are difficult or impossible to be mounted on the angles transoms for support in an acceptable operating posture. In contrast, this invention provides boarding ladders that may be mounted on a sloped topsides surface of a boat, e.g., the reverse transom of a sailboat, and be supported in a proper operating posture.